DIVE LOG AUSTRALASIA ISSUE 413 AUGUST 25

Lissenung Island: Diving in Paradise text and photos by Armin Merkel

Lissenung Island is a photographers paradise

A small island in the South Pacific – white sand, blue water and palm trees everywhere. Sounds like Robinson Crusoe. The feeling I got upon setting foot on the Island at the end of last year was very different. Ange and Dietmar, owners and managers of Lissenung Island Resort, have been friends of mine for a long time and this place feels like a second home to me. Having been here before, a few years ago, it is still just as familiar and cosy as it was the first time, and the excitement and the fascination about being here captured me yet again. I remember, Lissenung Island wasn’t called ‘Island of Paradise’ back in the day for no reason! Situated on the Northern tip of Papua New Guinea’s New Ireland Province, within the channels that connect the

South Pacific to the North East and the Bismarck Sea to the South West, Lissenung Island is located in the midst of some great diving waters. While the bottom of the Pacific is much like a very wide sandy slope with scattered reefs, the bottom of the Bismarck Sea drops right off quite dramatically. Here you can find some beautiful underwater landscapes and it seems to be, understandably, many guests’ favourite area. Along the shoreline of the Bismarck Sea, you can find deep walls, steep reefs and - in the right spots – some calm spots or stronger currents, as well. Due to its sandy and topographical nature, the Pacific side on the other hand offers outstanding muck diving, WWII plane wrecks, and coral reefs. As a photographer, two of my favourite wide angle sites, Helmut’s Reef and Peter’s Patch, lie right at the Southern entrance of the deepest channel connecting the two bodies of water as the usually stronger currents in this area bring in lots of fish, and bigger ones at that, from the deep. Both sites offer protected spots where it’s easy to hang there and watch the fish come closer. I remember seeing a massive dogtooth tuna, several huge giant trevally and lots of Spanish mackerel hunting fusiliers or just patrolling the edge of the reefs. Blacktip and grey reef sharks and turtles are never far away. The first time I was here, we even saw three humongous Queensland groupers, which can grow up to over 2.5m in length, with mouths so wide we could have easily fit our heads inside. While I find the big stuff pretty cool, it’s usually the macro

Whip Coral shrimp

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Dive Log Australasia #413 August‘25

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